Birds, birds, birds!

For today's SCS Ways to Use It Challenge, we were challenged to use BIRDS on our cards! I love birds, and have several individual stamps and also sets. In fact, just this week I received my new Birds of a Feather set from Papertrey Ink. I love the variety of sentiments for a lot of different occasions, and also the silhouette images of different kinds of birds.

I used a simple layout and some little details like faux stitching, sponging, and a stick pin to dress up the card.


Yesterday I took my summer school class students on a field trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha (3 hours from me). I am teaching a class called "Ocean Commotion" to 1st and 2nd graders. We focused on the aquarium, of course, and then visited several other exhibits, including the new Butterfly and Insect Pavilion, the Lied Jungle (Rainforest), the Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night, and of course the giraffes! There was a baby! We also went to the petting zoo, Gorilla Valley, Cat Complex and the Aviary. It was a long twelve hour day, but very fun!
I have been to zoos all over the country (including Denver, Chicago, Kansas City, San Diego, Phoenix and some in England!) and I still think that Omaha has the best zoo around. If you ever get a chance to visit, you should make an effort to go there. It is awesome! I am hoping that the pictures I took on the school camera turn out because the animals were all very active. If they do, I will show you some of the highlights tomorrow.

I probably won't be able to post any new cards until Tuesday, as my husband and kids are leaving for Arizona today for a family reunion on his side of the family. I think he will want to take the camera..... what do you think? :)

It's just as well. Some of you know that my dad is in the hopsital after suffering a mini-stroke last week. He will be there probably another three weeks. So I will spend some more time with him and my mom this weekend. They will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary on Monday. Last Monday was my dad's birthday, so we had a fun party in the hospital room! My sister is also here, visiting from Arizona, so we can maybe do some stamping this weekend and I can show you those projects next week.

Some other not-so-great news -- my little sweet beagle Queen Dayna (see sidebar for picture) has two cancerous tumors the same size as her heart, surrounding her heart. We found that out on Tuesday. The vet said she might live 6 more months, but I don't think it will even be two. She is very despondent, and is not eating, so we will not prolong her suffering. This came on so suddenly; just a few weeks ago she was still acting like a puppy. But when she dropped 20% of her body weight in a month, I knew something was wrong. So I will miss her and so will my lab puppy! So I will spend some time with her too!

Give your pets a hug today!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Papertrey Birds of a Feather
Paper: K & Co. Recycled DP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Almost Amethyst
Accessories: paper piercer, ribbon, square brads, sponge dauber, Heidi Grace heart stick pin
Techniques: sponging, piercing, faux stitching